1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to a server facilitating the delivery of interactive media to mobile devices and more particularly to a server that delivers interactive content as part of a customized service to a mobile device user.
2. Related Art
Current mobile device service networks do not provide easy to use services to users of mobile devices. They also have infrastructure that is rigid wherein it is not easy to create and deploy new solutions. However, the use of mobile devices has become ubiquitous and can be encountered in all walks of life. This is made possible due the wide coverage provided by wireless networks. Such a wireless network can be valuable but is underutilized due to lack of several key technologies, in addition to lack of standard interface and communication protocols. Mobile devices are typically used for voice calls and data access over wireless networks. However, there are very limited uses to which a typical user employs his mobile device, such as voice calls and email access.
Currently mobile devices do not support interactive media effectively. A micro browser available in some mobile devices makes it possible to enter a URL and retrieve a web page. Some Internet websites can be accessed using the browser in some mobile devices. Unfortunately, new forms of interactive media are not supported in most mobile devices—these include questionnaires, audio-assisted activities, etc.
Normally, advertisements are provided on televisions (TVs) and newspapers. Often they are not interactive in the sense that the user can view them but cannot do much with these forms of advertisements. Advertisements provided as video clips that are easy to run on television (TV) and computers have been known for a while. However, these are not communicated to mobile devices typically. Some rudimentary forms of advertisements, in the form of text based SMS messages have been recently available. Mobile devices are currently confined to such limited text based advertisements. Mobile devices with poor display resolution are not effective in presenting large forms of media. Ads in the form of movies and video clips, shown in movies and on TV are not possible on mobile devices due to technical as well as usability reasons.
Current media distribution servers have no control over the media once delivered to its clients. They often deliver some form of text or a webpage to a mobile device. Some media distribution servers provide songs for download. Others provide movies for download. Client devices run some small programs such a an MP3 player or a video player to receive the songs or movies and play them on the mobile device. A browser in a mobile device may have a plug-in for a MP3 player or a video plugin and may be able to play songs and movies when downloaded by a user who uses the browser.
Present media distribution servers are not customized to deliver interactive media on the mobile devices to provide uniform services across the entire mobile user community due to the wide difference in the mobile device hardware architecture. Thus the current media distribution server often cannot compensate for the inherent limitation of mobile device architecture. For example quite a few types of mass-market mobile devices cannot store large plug-ins and process movies and longtime video/audio clips (at the required display frame rate) unlike personnel or laptop computers. This is due to small storage, small system memory and relatively less powerful processing circuitry on the mobile devices. This requires a different approach to be accomplished by media distribution server in delivering image or audio/video clips on mobile devices. It also makes it necessary to develop new technologies for supporting interactive media on mobile devices.
Handheld devices like mobile phones have a small display that needs to be taken into account when developing new interactive media solutions and in designing new media distribution servers. Because displaying adequate text in the interactive media on such small displays is not possible to describe complex products or services. In this scenario a new method of interactive media delivery is imperative. In this context the current media distribution servers such as those that deliver songs and movies to a mobile device are not implemented to complement the dynamic requirements of media delivery based on the instantaneous inputs from different entities on the network.
The architecture of the mobile devices varies widely in terms their interface with the internet and its components such as servers, standard internet communication protocols, etc. The architecture of the mobile services do not fall strictly in the realm of any standards, and thus are more of proprietary in nature. Thus we see a wide range of mobile product in terms of their functionalities and capabilities. It becomes more challenging to deliver any interactive media on such a vast variety of architecturally differing mobile clients. Current media distribution servers are inadequate in providing the interactive media delivery services over such a nonstandard (in media types and content delivery means) and architecturally divergent mobile device base.
Currently media distribution server incapable of delivering new services such as those needed to conduct e-business. New types of e-business are likely to proliferate in the near future are likely to provide services to a user over a mobile device. Media distribution servers are inadequate in addressing the needs of such new e-businesses.
Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional and traditional approaches will become apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art through comparison of such systems with the present invention.